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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26458654">inconveniently in love with you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/erika_leana/pseuds/erika_leana'>erika_leana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band), WAYV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Kunten, M/M, Mentioned WayV Ensemble, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s), Pining, Slow Burn, side xiaodery</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:28:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,064</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26458654</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/erika_leana/pseuds/erika_leana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kun has messed up by coming out to his parents and lying to them about having a boyfriend. Now he needs an emergency date for his cousin's wedding next week and, apparently, Ten is his only option. </p><p>(Or in which Kun is an oblivious idiot and Ten has been in love with him since the day he met him.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>202</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In Ten’s eyes, Kun has always been a calm and steadfast person—to the point that his life is utterly and terribly undramatic. Except for the fact that he has six chaotic friends, Kun has never had any drama or gossip-worthy events that excited the others. While Ten does think that makes him a tad boring (in comparison to everyone else), he sees Kun as the steady and dependable rock of the group. And one of the best things about him is that he always listens when someone talks. Despite his habitual nagging, he’s considered the “wise” one that everyone goes to when they need comfort or advice. When someone else talks, he doesn’t plaster on a fake smile or do mental math in his head. And he just <em>knows </em>what to say to you. Or maybe Ten is just always, biasedly satisfied with Kun’s words and the way he gives you all of his attention when you need it.</p><p>Ten has always thought of the two of them as having a yin-and-yang type of friendship, in which Kun is almost instinctively the calm to Ten’s storm—and Ten’s storm is always brewing. Being the unapologetic drama queen he is, Ten always has something to rant about to Kun; a new daily drama with some stuck-up bitch in his dance class or the annoyingly, marginally but <em>obviously</em>, less-than-usually sugary coffee from his frequent café that messes up his entire morning (how hard is it to get his coffee order right?). And Kun always listens and pays attention. Sure, sometimes he gives an amused sort of smile and sighs that Ten needs to calm down, and sometimes he does nag, but such comments are never said with any true irritation. In the three years that he’s known Kun, his tolerance throughout everything continues to be astounding. <em>The world shall never deserve such an amazing man</em>, he had thought to himself literally only minutes into meeting Kun at university orientation.</p><p>And it’s not that Kun has never needed comfort or advice back, it’s just that he has always handled situations by himself easily and admirably—and he has definitely <em>never </em>fucked up his life to this extent.</p><p>So when Kun sends an emergency text for help in the group chat, Ten is absolutely floored.</p><p>“I fucked up,” is all the text says. And those three words are shocking enough to mobilise the other boys. Because 1) Kun swore, like fucking <em>swore</em>, and he almost never swears, and 2) <em>he actually fucked up</em>. It’s enough for the boys to reply immediately and for Lucas and Ten (who live the closest) to drop everything and go to his apartment as quickly as possible.</p><p>(Are they the two best people to calm down Kun right now? Probably not. The others send Ten a private text to ask him to do his best for now and update them later. Ten replies that he can handle Kun. Probably.)</p><p>When Ten arrives at Kun’s apartment, Lucas is already there and answers the door. The younger, though giant (baby), boy looks anxious. “He’s been pacing since I got here,” he whispers to him. “I haven’t been able to calm him down.”</p><p>Ten nods and walks in to greet Kun. Kun is visibly shaking, an utter mess, but he goes to give Ten a hug. Ten responds warmly and pats him on the back. But quickly, Kun is back to pacing nervously around the living room. Lucas and Ten take a seat on the couch.</p><p>“I don’t know what the fuck to do,” Kun vents. Lucas and Ten just <em>stare </em>at Kun for a moment, because he’s swearing again. And not by accident. Weird. “Guys, I <em>fucked </em>up.” Yeah, this is really weird.</p><p>“Gege, just try to calm down first. Breathe,” Lucas says, trying to show the older boy breathing techniques with his hands. Ten would’ve absolutely laughed at Lucas’ adorable idiocy if it weren’t for the crisis at hand.</p><p>“I can’t fucking breathe!” Kun yells. “I just came out to my parents and I have to bring a boyfriend—which I don’t have—to my cousin’s wedding next week! Boyfriend! Next <em>fucking</em> week!”</p><p>Ten decides it's time for him to intervene. He stands up and goes over to the anxious boy. “Hey, come on. You’re not gonna solve anything by yelling. Isn’t that what you always tell me?” he says, rubbing a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder.</p><p>“Are you nagging me?” Kun chuckles but he gives into Ten’s words easily and decides to calmly take a seat on the armchair.</p><p>“A little role reversal never hurts,” Ten jokes back, trying to lighten the mood with his usual cheekiness. Kun smirks.</p><p>The older boy explains his predicament to them. The guys had always known that Kun was still in the closet with his family considering how conservative and typically Asian they were, so it’s understandable that the boy is feeling all sorts of confusion and anxiety towards his parents’ positive (?) response to his coming out. Ten has never met Kun’s parents but from the way he talks about them, he can sort of understand what they’re like—strict but attentive, a little overbearing but not totally unsympathetic. And from Kun’s words, it was possible they would be homophobic as well. Well, Ten’s parents certainly are; they may hold western values, but Ten’s father has always wanted grandchildren and despite the fact that Ten would love to adopt in the future, it hasn’t settled well with the family.</p><p>“…And then she told me to bring my 'boyfriend' to the wedding,” Kun says, referring to his mother. “What does that mean? What the <em>hell</em> am I supposed to do?” </p><p><em>At least he’s not swearing anymore</em>, Ten thinks. He glances over to Kun’s kitchen and notices a wok of very visibly dark and burnt fried rice on the stove. Was he too stressed to even cook dinner? Poor boy.</p><p>“I’m surprised your parents didn’t lash out on you,” Ten replies. “But isn’t that a good thing? I think it means they’re going to try their best to understand you.”</p><p>Kun nods and holds out a sympathetic hand to Ten. The younger boy smiles and squeezes the other’s hand.</p><p>“Hmm, I can understand why this is frustrating for you but, gege, I think this isn’t that complicated,” Lucas interjects. The other two raise their eyebrows at him. “Don’t you just need someone to go with you and pretend to be your boyfriend for the week? And then you can make up some excuse later that you broke up afterwards.”</p><p>Yup, this giant baby is definitely an idiot.</p><p>“Lucas, I have to leave for the trip in three days,” Kun says exasperatedly. “Where will I find someone to take a whole week off just to come play ‘pretend boyfriends’ with me on such short notice?”</p><p>“You could ask one of the guys!” Lucas responds optimistically. “Isn’t our study break next week? Of course, I’m busy with an assignment next week—“</p><p>“Which you forgot to start this week,” Kun chides.</p><p>“—which I did forget. But the others should be free, right?” Lucas turns to Ten.</p><p>Ten shakes his head. “No, Dejun and Guanheng are going on their trip next week, remember? And Sicheng has a dance competition—how can you not remember these things?”</p><p>“Why am <em>I</em> the one being nagged at right now?” Lucas remarks.</p><p>Ten smacks him on the shoulder. “Because you are a perpetual idiot but Kun has never done something stupid until today.”</p><p>Kun laughs. Ten smiles in relief knowing he feels slightly better. And the boy genuinely seemed to be alright until a realisation dawns upon him. “…So, my options are Yangyang and Ten?”</p><p>Kun turns and stares at him with a mysterious expression that Ten can’t figure out. Annoyance? Disgust? Anger? (Either one, Tenn feels like it fires holes in his heart so he looks away.)</p><p>“Should I give Yangyang a call? Or group-video call it?” Lucas asks. They decide to group-call it and explain the situation to the others. Of course, the responses and expressions are a similar mix of shock, confusion and concern. But everyone agrees that Lucas’ idea, though ridiculous, is perhaps the best idea they’ve got.</p><p>And then there’s silence. Followed by Yangyang screaming over the phone, “Me?!”</p><p>“Okay, maybe it isn’t the best idea,” Ten sighs. “I mean, Yangyang could never pull it off. The poor baby is such a coward and can’t act if his life depended on—“</p><p>“Hey! Not that I want to do it, but I <em>can </em>act!” Yangyang yells.</p><p>“What about you, Ten-ge?” Sicheng chimes in. The others don’t say anything and stare weirdly at Ten behind their screens. (Of which makes the holes in his heart increase.)</p><p>Ten tries to eyeball them a signal. <em>The signal. </em>They stare back at him. “What about me?” he chuckles. “I couldn’t pull it off either and besides, I’m probably busy—“</p><p>“<em>Probably</em> busy?” Sicheng interrupts again. Ten swears he could see Sicheng smirk blurrily. A smirk that screams <em>I'm about to end this man's whole career</em>. “You could probably pull it off better than Yangyang, right? You took acting classes last semester, remember?”</p><p>“That’s true. But it would never work with me, right? Kun?” Ten turns to him. And there’s that inexplicable expression on the older boy’s face again. But Ten peers back at him, hoping for at least Kun’s common sense to come through. “I mean, we would just constantly nag and fight and that doesn’t exactly show happy ‘pretend boyfriends’, right?”</p><p>“Why not?” Kun says. Everything about him today is completely untethered from what Ten knew of him. Has the calmness and steadiness in Kun finally broken? Ten is beginning to think he <em>can’t</em> handle this right now.</p><p>“Ten, will you be my pretend boyfriend?”</p><p>Kun focuses on him. Ten swallows and turns to Lucas, who <em>also </em>does nothing but look back. Absolutely unhelpful. (How many metaphorical holes can one bear in his heart before he literally dies of heartache?)</p><p>“Oh, fuck off, it’ll never work—“ Ten nervously starts again.</p><p>“Language.”</p><p>“You were swearing just five minutes ago!” Ten says. The others giggle because <em>now </em>they want to respond.</p><p>“Come on, Ten-ge, it’s not a bad idea,” Guanheng chimes in. The others agree.</p><p>Dejun nods. “Yeah! Think of it as acting experience!”</p><p>“It sounds like fun,” Lucas says, his puppy ears perking up. “I wish I could go on the trip!”</p><p>And Sicheng, wearing his metaphorical crown of <em>absolute betrayal</em>, is all giggles in the background.</p><p>Ten hates them all five of them to his core and he swears revenge on them later. But for now, because it really seems like he has no other choice and because he is a good friend (and also because Kun is exceptionally good at carving out Ten’s heart with just his stare), Ten swallows his nervous gulp and says, “Yeah alright, what’s the worst that could happen?”</p><p>Kun smiles in relief. How could Ten ever say no to that smile? He’ll regret it eventually but for now, he just wants to support his friend. Kun is so relieved that he gets up to give Ten a hug.</p><p>As Kun is back-facing the phone screen and as Ten is patting his shoulders, Ten uses the chance to glare at everyone with <em>the signal </em>again. The others give him ridiculous looks of false innocence and playfulness. Lucas smiles and gives him a thumbs-up from the side.</p><p>Because they all are unpleasantly aware of how Ten has been hiding the fact that he’s been in fucking love with Kun —and yes, he’ll <em>fucking</em> swear about it in spite of older boy—for <em>three fucking years</em>.</p><p>But what’s the worst that could happen… right?</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi guysssss! This is my first fic about NCT/WayV. I do love them boys and I love writing stupid stories...and I'm /obsessed/ with fake dating/fake-boyfriends aus so I started writing this in between my mountain of university work. Please let me know what you think in the comments below! :)) &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In Kun’s defense, his family is extremely—like to the point of actually meddling—nosy. Maybe it’s just Chinese family culture, but Kun swears his relatives are especially curious about his private life and relationship status. His parents are, in fact, the most intrusive people in his life.</p>
<p>Don’t get him wrong—Kun is very close to his family. They may be chaotic and extensive and he may not actually remember the names of all of his relatives (because there’s just <em>so many</em>), but he definitely likes them. Since moving to Korea for university, he hasn’t travelled back to China much to see his family. As the only son, he has tried to visit his parents during study breaks and holidays, but it’s been getting increasingly harder to make such trips with a busier schedule. And despite the fact that the Qian family has gatherings for literally any reason possible—birthday parties, weddings, baby showers, holidays, new family pets, etc.—Kun has unfortunately missed a lot of them due to his university priorities. Now with one of his close cousins’ wedding coming up, and that means a week with the entire family, Kun made it a point to buy a flight back home for it and he realises he does look forward to seeing the whole family.</p>
<p>There’s just one problem. It’s that they <em>love </em>gossiping and prying into people’s business. Kun is no exception to their nosiness and, being at the age of an eligible bachelor, is often subjected to it. The tiring <em>“why don’t you have a girlfriend yet?”</em> questions and the invasive <em>“let me introduce you to a nice girl, I think you’d be a good match”</em> remarks usually die down after a while right? Not in the Qian family. It’s almost like a game for the family; sometimes an aunt tries to play matchmaker for Kun, other times cousins are betting under the dinner table whether he will, once again, fail to bring home a girlfriend this year, and one time his grandmother had almost successfully pushed him into an arranged marriage.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Kun got used to it and never cracked under the pressure. He learnt to maintain composure, to always been careful and courteous around them. He never misbehaved or rebelled. At family gatherings, despite the gossip about his relationship status, he had the image of a golden child that the other cousins were jealous of and the older relatives wanted for their own children—Kun, the handsome, intelligent and loyal son who would realise the family’s wish for prosperity, perfection and the other pompous bullshit.</p>
<p>But maybe the pressure was too much. After all, Kun never thought of himself as perfect. At the last family gathering, which was two years ago, he had sneaked a bottle of wine from his aunt’s fridge into his bag and drank it quietly in his room that night while trying to hold back frustrated tears. <em>If only they knew</em>, he thought that night. Because Kun wouldn’t be the family’s golden child if they knew the truth about him. Would he be shunned? Probably. Would his parents disown him? He thinks so. He remembers to bite the bullet and hide behind his façade of the (almost, unmarried) perfect son, but maybe it really was too much.</p>
<p>And yet, Kun never expected to have majorly screwed himself over the way he did when his mother called him to discuss details about his cousin’s wedding. In fact, his outburst seemed to surprise even himself.</p>
<p>When his mother calls him in the evening, Kun is tired, half-listening and trying to fix dinner for himself. He’s had a long day at university of completing a group project with obnoxious slackers as well as helping out his lecturers with a research project (because <em>yes, </em>he is a teacher’s pet and he’ll sell his body to maintain his 4.0 GPA)—so, he is beyond exhausted and has anything but tolerance to hear his mother repeat the details of the upcoming event. Over the study break, Kun is expected to travel back to his hometown Fujian for a week, he’ll be attending the banquet and dinner at so-and-so place at such-and-such time and spend the days leading up to the ceremony with the close family. His mind cannot process all the details right now so he agrees half-heartedly to everything his mother says.</p>
<p>“…Did you just say you’re bringing a plus one?” his mother asks, snapping him out of his inattention. He’s in the middle of cooking fried rice when stops dead.</p>
<p>“Kun, you said you’re bringing a plus one? Is it a date? It is a girlfriend? Have you finally gotten a girlfriend?” Kun goes entirely silent while she probes him excitedly. His heart is racing and his hands are beginning to tremble in fear. And with what feels like his last breath in this world, he screams—</p>
<p>“IT’S A GUY. I’M GAY!” He. Cracks. Under. Pressure.</p>
<p>Kun isn’t sure why he does it; why this conversation is suddenly <em>the</em> conversation to break the hump on the camel’s back. But without preamble, he’s coming out to his mother <em>and </em>lying to her about having a boyfriend before he even realizes what just happened.</p>
<p>The voice on the other side of the call is silent now, like she didn’t hear him correctly. Kun is regretting everything and wants to die <em>like right now</em>, but he doesn’t say anything because he’s just as shocked as her. The silence goes on for what feels like centuries before he hears her mother clear her throat.</p>
<p>“Kun, dear, I’ll call you back. I need to speak your father right now,” she says calmly and hangs up before Kun can say anything else.</p>
<p>Now he’s done it. His fried rice is burnt. He’s no longer the perfect son. And he’s definitely going to get disowned. He drops his phone, falls to the ground and screams for a couple of minutes.</p>
<p><em>Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. </em>He desperately wants to rant and cry so he grabs his phone again to call one of the guys. But he quickly gets a second call from his mother.</p>
<p><em>That was quick. Guess it doesn’t take long to decide to disown their son</em>, he thinks. He nervously picks up the call, ready for his parents’ screaming.</p>
<p>“Kun, dear, your father and I spoke about you,” his mother starts. Her voice is calm, nervous perhaps. “We… we would like for you to bring your, er, b-boyfriend to the wedding, is that alright?”</p>
<p>Kun is dumbfounded. Is he dreaming? Perhaps tomorrow he’ll ask one of the guys to smack him in the head (he knows they'd do it gladly). And he can’t quite tell if his mother is okay with him or not; he senses the awkwardness but maybe he’s in too much shock to comprehend any bitterness in her voice.</p>
<p>“Yes, Mama,” is all he replies. Stiffly, he holds back tears.</p>
<p>“I-I’ll call you again soon to discuss arrangements, okay?” her voice is calm but awkward. He feels absolutely unsettled and the noises in his head only continue to call him an idiot.</p>
<p>“Yes, Mama,” he says again and makes an excuse about dinner to end the call. His hand thunks down next to his leg and he stares ahead, trying to make sense of what just happened.</p>
<p><em>Well, </em>and mind his language, <em>fuckkkkkk.</em></p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey guys! I kinda smashed out this second chapter along with the first lol. I think I'm going to write this fic with both Ten and Kun's point of views so this will be exciting. Hope you like this chapter, please let me know in the comments what you think! Cheers :) &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Ten met Kun, it was like a movie scene. Ten felt like the naive female protagonist who foolishly falls in love at first sight with the extremely dashing male lead. Ten had never met anyone whose smile made his insides melt until he saw Kun for the first time. Ten was looking forward to university orientation, dreaming of all the hot “prey” he could catch and finally ogle at his favourite type of university boys: tall, rugged-looking, deep-voice and mysterious kind of boys. But as he walked onto the campus field to meet his assigned group for orientation, he was instantly struck by the presence of a light-haired boy. The boy was anything but Ten's usual type—no, this boy, dressed in a simple white shirt and light-blue jeans, was absolutely fucking <em>pretty </em>in ever sense that Ten had to take a second to comprehend—and suddenly having a type didn't matter at all. The boy had caught Ten staring at him and walked over. He wasn't that much taller than himself, maybe a couple of centimeters taller, and this confused Ten even further because he always had this obsession with boys way taller than himself. When the boy held out his hand and introduce himself first, Ten must've been in a daze or been possessed because he instantly made the mistake of blurting out how pretty he thought the boy was.</p><p>The boy laughed, and even that was pretty. “Thanks, I think you’re pretty too. I’m Qian Kun, what’s your name?” the boy asked in a soft, sweet voice. Ten felt cupid arrows shot straight into his heart and for the first time in his playboy life, he felt utterly nervous to be around a boy.</p><p>They were quick to become friends. Despite studying completely different degrees (Kun studies Business, whereas Ten studies a Bachelor in Dance and Choreography), and despite their contrasting personalities, they formed a natural friendship and started hanging out all the time. When Kun pushed Ten into signing up as orientation volunteers together the next year, Ten was reluctant but can’t now imagine his life without the other boys if he hadn’t met them under that same campus field.</p><p>And despite Ten’s innate nature of pursuing everything and everyone he likes with an ardent force, he never confessed his growing romantic interest in Kun. As if he knew it would only result in disaster and terrible rejection, he had mentally armed himself with several indisputable facts that hold him back: 1) Kun is his best friend now and he never wants to ruin the friendship they have, 2) despite his crush, Ten truly enjoys their flirting-nagging camaraderie right now, 3) Kun is amazing, like <em>too amazing</em> to the point that he deserves the world and that’s exactly why 4), Ten knows he's absolutely unworthy of him.</p><p>Over the past three years, Ten has become really good at hiding and compartmentalising his feelings for Kun. Sometimes Kun leaves his hand on Ten’s knees a bit too long and it sends electric waves to the rest of Ten’s bodies, and sometimes Ten forgets that insisting his friend sleep in his bed with him instead of on the couch when it’s too dark and late to send him home is entirely <em>inappropriate</em> and <em>definitely</em> not good for his heart—but other than that, Ten has kept his feelings in check. For the most part, Ten is relieved by the fact that Kun is simply an utter idiot who’s oblivious to his true feelings.</p><p>On the other hand, Ten's crush seems to be completely obvious to the rest of the group. Hiding and shouldering a three-year secret is, after all, not something anyone can really do alone. The other boys had pried his secret out him one drunken night (Kun was absent because he’s studious and no fun and <em>“unlike you kids, I start my assignments when you should start them”</em>) and Ten caved into inebriated pressure when asked about his sad, pathetic love life. “Why don’t you just tell him?” they asked him. To which, Ten replied that it was far too late now. Ever since then, Ten’s crush on Kun started becoming an inside joke between the group and Ten would get teased about it at any chance.</p><p>Now this—this opportunity—was something Dong Sicheng, King Of Stirring Drama And Not Taking Accountability, and the others couldn’t resist not taking advantage of. Don’t get them wrong, they love Ten like an older brother and they would never actually push him into doing anything harmful or emotional scarring… But to be fair, if you had to watch Ten secretly pine for his <em>and</em> also your best friend while listening to his daily gushing about him for <em>three years</em>, you’d also want to put him through at least a week’s worth of anguish. But nevertheless, these boys are dickheads and Ten will kill them.</p><p>“What’s the worst that could happen?” Ten remembers saying. If he could take back his words, he really, really would. Because, of course, not even Ten’s Oscar-worthy acting skills can save him from a likely scenario where he ruins everything and accidentally confesses his feelings to Kun in a heated moment—and a week with just Kun <em>pretending to be his fucking boyfriend</em> in front of his family is going to guarantee many of these moments. Yup, Ten is definitely fucked.</p><p>His mind is racing with terrible thoughts and for a second, he completely zones out from the present until he realises and remembers that Lucas is smiling at him from behind Kun. “I’ll kill you,” he mouths but Lucas foolishly gives him another thumbs-up.</p><p>Ten pulls away from Kun’s tight hug. “Thank you, Ten,” Kun says gratuitously, giving the boy another blinding smile. (No really, how could Ten say no to him?) “I’ll really owe you for this. You can ask me for anything after the trip, I swear I’ll make it up to you.”</p><p>“Anything?” Ten chuckles, trying to hide his anxiety. “I’ll take my time to think about it then. It’s gotta be something good.”</p><p>“Aw, now I wish I really wish I could go!” Lucas whines. Ten can’t tell if he’s joking or not, because honestly, he doesn’t know what goes on in that boy’s head most the time.</p><p>“You are the last person I’ll ever let to go,” Kun scolds. “If you don’t start your 3000-word assignment soon, I won’t help you with proofreading.”</p><p>“Ah, ge, don’t be like that. I was just joking!” Lucas exclaims. He stands up and retrieves his keys and wallet from the coffee table. “Well, since everything is settled now, I’m gonna go home to start my assignment, how about that?”</p><p>There’s an innocent optimism in his eyes that Ten can't help but burst out laughing at. The two guys see Lucas off, leaving only them in Kun’s apartment.</p><p>“You think he’s actually going to start his assignment tonight?” Ten asks as he shuts the door.</p><p>Kun checks his phone. “It’s past seven. He’s definitely going to play computer games,” he calls. Ten chuckles as he agrees.</p><p>Ten decides to walk into the kitchen, moving past <em>other </em>issues, and points out the pan of burnt rice he noticed earlier. “Did your mom call you at a bad time or have you lost your cooking skills?” he jokes.</p><p>“Ah, I was in the middle of cooking dinner when she called,” Kun says, cringing at the sight of his obvious failure. He moves to throw the food out.</p><p>Ten laughs. “I haven’t eaten yet either, wanna order takeout instead?”</p><p>“And watch a movie?” Kun adds. Ten smiles. They're referring to their weekly routine that started when Kun confessed one day that he had never seen The Devil Wears Prada—of which Ten had taken personal offense—and so the (<em>marginally</em>) younger boy declared a movie marathon of all their favourite films which thus became their tradition; Kun will cook or they’ll order takeout, and they’ll watch a movie or two. You know, like <em>friends</em> do. Their weekly routines eventually brought them even closer. Sometimes the others join them, but movie marathons, regardless of whether it's at Ten's or Kun's apartment, became <em>their</em> thing. Ten doesn't know how Kun feels about it, but it's something that he looks forward to every week. Just spending time with Kun satisfied him.</p><p>“I just don’t understand why they care so much about my dating life,” Kun exclaims in the middle of the movie, setting down his takeout bowl of noodles on the coffee table. They’re watching Moonlight, which is all sorts of fitting for their situation right now. Ten had a feeling that Kun might start ranting at some point so he’s prepared to be the listener tonight. “I’m only twenty-four, I shouldn’t be pressured this much into finding a partner, right?”</p><p>Sitting cross-legged on the couch next to him, Ten shrugs. “I dunno,” he answers nonchalantly, digging into his fried rice for chicken. “They’ve never seen you bring a partner, <em>boyfriend</em>, home—let alone know that you’re gay. So, to be fair, I get how they would be concerned.”</p><p>“Ugh, I can’t believe I told them,” Kun sighs, bobbing his head back to rest on the head of the couch. Ten picks a piece of chicken with his fork and motions it in front of Kun’s face. Kun props his head back up and eats it off Ten’s fork. Ten resumes picking at his food.</p><p>“And you’re very brave for that," he reminds him.</p><p>“I couldn’t be more of an idiot.” Kun snickers while he chews.</p><p>Ten can’t help but nod. “But they didn’t react <em>that</em> badly, did they?”</p><p>“You’re right,” Kun replies. Pauses. “Sorry, I was being insensitive…”</p><p>Ten tells him it’s fine. He thinks back of when he came out to his family two years ago; his mother and sister were shocked but they accepted him after a while, whereas his father and some relatives hadn’t spoken to the boy since. Kun’s an only child so it’s little more complicated for him and Ten can only begin to imagine what drama they may have to deal with next week.</p><p>“Hey, I’m here for you,” Ten assures him, turning to give him an encouraging smile. “And I’ll be the best damn pretend-boyfriend your family will ever meet!”</p><p>Kun laughs, throwing his head back again. Ten has to pretend his heart isn’t fluttering.</p><p>That night, after they’ve eaten and grown tired of movies, Ten’s loud yawning is a sign for both of them to get some sleep as they still have classes tomorrow. Because, yes, spending the night at each other’s home without asking is also what <em>friends </em>do. Kun takes a shower first while Ten clears their empty takeout boxes. After that, Ten goes to shower himself and finds that Kun has left him clothes to change into as usual. As he changes into Kun’s t-shirt and slack pants that smell like him—and Kun smells <em>amazing</em>, like fresh mint with a masculine scent—he’s struck again with nervousness and anxiety about his “friendship” with Kun.</p><p>Being his friend is one thing, but pretending to be his boyfriend? In front of his entire family? For a week? <em>The struggle is real</em>.</p><p>But tonight, he decides he’s too tired to think about it anymore and so he takes a deep breath and makes his way to Kun’s room. Kun is already settled into bed, stretched out underneath the sheets and typing away on his laptop. Kun's hair is slightly wet and dishevelled, he's taken off his contacts and is wearing his glasses—it's Ten's favourite appearance. He's an absolute sucker for messy-hair Kun in glasses.</p><p>“How can you be doing university stuff right now?” Ten remarks jokingly, crawling into bed next to him. Because sleeping together platonically in each other’s bed is also what <em>friends </em>do. (Even if Kun’s knees carelessly gaze Ten’s in the middle of the night sometimes and it makes Ten's body feel hot all over.)</p><p>“I don’t know,” Kun replies lamely. He looks tired and tense. Ten gives him a stern look as he lies down and props his head up with his arm. He holds his other hand out to Kun expectedly.</p><p>Kun sighs knowingly. He closes his laptop and passes it to Ten who puts it on the bedside table as he gets up. Then he goes to turn the light off and pads back to bed.</p><p>“What would I do without you?” Kun says.</p><p>“Hm, I’m guessing you would be introducing Yangyang to your family as your boyfriend—which would be funny but also disastrously chaotic.”</p><p>Kun laughs. “Yeah, I’m so glad that’s not the case.”</p><p>They lie under the sheets and face each other. There’s a moment of silence and Ten’s heart is hammering in his chest again. He’s trying his best to stay calm and ignore just how close they are. On most days, it’s easy to forget because it’s so natural of them but <em>today</em> was simply a mess of emotional drama and tension that Ten feels like he’s so much more aware of Kun and of himself.</p><p>“Ten?” Kun whispers. A silver of moonlight seeps through the window, reflecting on Kun’s face. Ten’s favourite part about Kun is his soft and pale face that looks like it would shatter upon touch. Kun is ethereal to the infatuated boy.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Thank you,” he says softly. “For saving me.”</p><p>There’s so much sincerity and vulnerability in his voice and eyes that it makes Ten feel weak and guilty inside. Guilty because he was making this ‘pretend-boyfriend’ issue about himself, even just in his thoughts. Kun’s happiness and peace come before any of his selfishness and insecurities.</p><p>“It’s what friends do,” he replies.</p><p>Kun smiles and they exchange goodnights. Kun is quick to fall asleep, having been quite exhausted today. Ten turns to stare up at the ceiling. It takes hours for him to fall asleep.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hope you like this chapter, i'll try to update regularly cuz i'm a quick writer. :))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, we did this for <em>you</em>,” is what Sicheng tells Ten the next day when they see each other at university. Xiaojun and Guanheng nod in agreement. As they’re sat in the university café having brunch together, Ten has the urge to throw his iced coffee at them but he decides it’s not worth wasting a nice drink. This morning, after he went home from Kun’s, he received a call from Sicheng to meet up and he decides it’s the perfect time to receive an explanation and exact punishment.</p>
<p>“For <em>me</em>?” Ten snaps. “Please do explain whatever the hell you mean so that I don’t hit you right now.”</p>
<p>“We’ve watched you pine over him since the day we found out, Ten-ge, and that’s coming up to <em>two</em> <em>years</em>,” Xiaojun says, pausing his meal to briefly glower at the older boy for putting them through his daily whinings about Kun. “This is a chance for your sad, pathetic love life to finally get some action—even if it’s, you know, <em>‘pretend’</em>.”</p>
<p>Sicheng and Guanheng can’t hold back their giggles. Ten rolls his eyes at them. He can't deny that he subjects the other boys to his rants when Kun isn't around but that <em>doesn't</em> excuse this right now. “I hate you guys,” he responds, “You know this will end terribly, right? I’m gonna mess this up so bad.”</p>
<p>“As a junior and fellow classmate in our Acting class, I have full confidence and pride in your ability to play this role well,” Guanheng remarks, smiling eagerly at the older boy. Ten irritably gives him the finger.</p>
<p>“I think it’ll be a good week!” Sicheng adds. He sips casually at his drink, acting completely innocent—as if he wasn’t the one who created this situation in the first place. Sicheng was actually the first to notice Ten was hiding something from the others. And upon his coercion, he started the drunken game of truth-or-dare to get Ten to confess. Honestly, with such obnoxious intuition and performance skills, Ten thinks that maybe <em>he</em> should be the one to be Kun’s pretend-boyfriend. “Haven’t you always wanted to date Kun?” he asks.</p>
<p>“In my fantasies, yes, but <em>this</em>—being his ‘pretend-boyfriend’ is completely different from my safe and private imaginations,” Ten retorts. “In which I am NOT thrust into a ridiculous situation where I have to hold his hand and ‘pretend’ my affections for him are real but also—<em>not real</em>.”</p>
<p>“Hey guys!” another voice interjects from afar. The boys turn to see Yangyang eagerly making his way towards them.</p>
<p>“Okay, who invited the <em>freshman </em>in here?” Ten immediately says, pointing at the newest member of their group. “The day-care centre is next to the Education building, baby.”</p>
<p>“Ha ha, very funny,” Yangyang responds sarcastically, pulling a chair to join them. “Don’t you ever get tired of that joke? And Sicheng-ge invited me, he texted: <em>‘come make fun of Ten-ge and I’ll buy you a milkshake’</em>.”</p>
<p>“I never said that last part,” Sicheng quips. Yangyang feigns innocence and pretends to act cute. Everyone else rolls their eyes. (But Guanheng gets up to buy him a drink.)</p>
<p>“Ten-ge is worried about holding Kun-ge’s hand,” Xiaojun tells Yangyang.</p>
<p>Ten can sense just how irresistibly hilarious these guys are finding this situation right now. He’ll probably never live this down, right? He hisses, “That is NOT what I’m worried about, you dickhead.”</p>
<p>Yangyang laughs. “Oh yeah, I’m so glad I wasn’t chosen to be it. I would <em>die </em>if I had to be Kun-ge’s fake boyfriend for a week,” he adds.</p>
<p>“But it’s alright if <em>I </em>have to do it?” Ten responds. “What happened to treating your elders with respect?”</p>
<p>“First of all, that’s <em>Korean culture</em>,” Sicheng replies. The others purposefully nod in agreement and murmur in Mandarin. “Secondly, we’re helping you live out your stupid fantasies, <em>Gege</em>.”</p>
<p>Ten smacks him. “Dong Sicheng, don’t make me fucking—“</p>
<p>“<em>Language</em>,” a sixth person from behind cuts in.</p>
<p>Ten jumps in shock. “Holy shit! Kun, why do you always appear when I’m swearing?!” he shrieks, turning to look up at the older boy standing before all of them.</p>
<p>“Kun-ge!” Sicheng rejoices as if he’s never been more relieved by Kun’s presence. Ten squints at the younger boy with a snappy look. “Where’s Lucas?” he asks.</p>
<p>“Oh, he went to find his lecturer to ask for an extension on his assignment,” Kun says, pulling another chair to join them. Of course, he habitually sits right next to Ten.</p>
<p>Xiaojun snickers. “You mean, the assignment he was supposed to start—“</p>
<p>“—last night?” Guanheng finishes, having returned from buying a drink for Yangyang. He places it in front of the young boy who rejoices.</p>
<p>“Last night? But he called me last night to play games,” Sicheng says. Ten and Kun knowingly exchange a look that obviously meant <em>we knew it</em>. (Call it parental instinct.)</p>
<p>“Anyways, what were you guys talking about?” Kun switches the subject. “Now what made Ten want to threaten our little Sicheng?”</p>
<p>The other boys glance at each other and then to Ten, who feels himself start to sweat nervously. He hopes and prays the others don’t try to use this moment to—</p>
<p>“Kun-ge, could you hold Ten-ge’s hand for a second?” Guanheng requests, plastering on a secretive smile.</p>
<p>Kun seems perplexed but he complies and reaches out to grab Ten’s hand that was resting on the table. He intertwines their fingers quite naturally and then turns to look at Ten. “Were you worried about this?” he asks him, giving a confused and concerned look.</p>
<p>“W-what? No way!” Ten denies. He wants to pull his hand away quickly because he thinks he’s starting to sweat more but Kun’s hand is just <em>there</em>, and it’s laced a little too perfectly with his own. Kun is peering at him, looking very concerned and a little hurt. “I was just asking the others h-how we could pull this off!” he practically shouts.</p>
<p>When Ten woke up in Kun’s bed this morning, it was like something in him had developed; a sort of hyper-awareness and sensitivity about himself and towards the boy resting peacefully next to him. Kun was still sleeping, laying cherubically underneath the sheets. Ten’s not usually the one to wake up first but when he does, he steals the chance to watch Kun in this quiet state for a bit. (Yes, he knows it’s creepy to do that but he doesn’t care.) Kun is ethereal even in his sleep; the gentle snuffles and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest are an intimate and vulnerable sight that Ten wants to pocket in his memory forever. Today felt a little strange looking at him like this—<em>did it always feel so…unnerving to see the boy you’ve been in love with for three years lie next to you?</em> Ten thought that such feelings eventually fade or settle after a while. Maybe he’s overthinking but as he gently shook Kun awake to tell him he’s leaving first to take a shower at home, he wonders how he’ll able to handle a whole week of feeling entirely intrusive and awkwardly intimate with him. If anything yesterday has proven, it's that Ten's years of efforts to build a wall around his secret feelings for Kun could easily come undone at any given moment.</p>
<p>With their hands still intertwined, Kun smiles at him. “We’ll be fine,” he says. “You won’t have to do anything, I’ll take care of everything.”</p>
<p>Ten gazes and him and nods slowly, feeling the other boy squeeze his hand before letting go. Ten swears Kun’s assurance does wonders for him.</p>
<p>The others glance at each other while giving uncomfortable looks. “Gross. This is <em>not </em>what I was trying to start,” Guanheng remarks disgustedly.</p>
<p>“Yeah, save it for your trip, please,” says Xiaojun.</p>
<p>“Ew, aren’t <em>you two</em> going on a trip next week as well?” Yangyang comments as he points a finger at them.</p>
<p>“That’s different. We’re <em>actually</em> dating and you guys are used to us being gross,” Xiaojun replies. In a grand response, Guanheng takes his hand and kisses him on the cheek proudly.</p>
<p>The others begin to react much more aggressively, dramatically pretending to cringe and hold back vomit. “We never said we got used to it,” Sicheng quips. Yangyang nods vigorously.</p>
<p>From the corner of his eyes, Ten notices the way Kun throws his head back laughing again. <em>We’ll be fine</em>, he repeats in his head and smiles.</p>
<hr/>
<p><em>We will NOT be fine</em>, he thinks the following morning as he does a last-minute luggage pack and sweep of his apartment. He’s usually quite composed and clean when it comes to organising and packing. But maybe it’s because he’s only fully processing the weight of this stressful situation now, he’s feeling nervous all over again and, for the life of him, he can’t find a matching pair of socks even after flipping his apartment upside down. He’s tussling stuff around at a frantic pace when he hears Kun come through the door.</p>
<p>Kun waltzes in with his luggage and a duffle bag hanging on his shoulder. He’s got on a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a plain shirt under a sleek denim jacket. He’s wearing his glasses, a hat backwards and his usual (radiant) smile. <em>Ugh</em>, <em>in front of my panic attack? </em>Ten thinks, feeling like his heart is about to explode. Seeing Kun in airport fashion isn’t exactly helping him calm down right now.</p>
<p>Kun instinctively goes to help Ten pack, finding everything he needs with a swift precision as if Ten’s stuff were hidden in plain sight. <em>A mom’s instinct is scary</em>. Finally, with his help, Ten is all packed and ready so they promptly make their way to the airport.</p>
<p>The next two hours pass by like a fast blur. Kun smoothly takes care of things, and Ten simply follows his lead through check-in and customs. Yesterday, Kun managed to snag Ten a last-minute ticket on the same flight and even got them arranged to sit next to each other; Ten offered to pay for himself but after losing an argument with Kun over it, Kun assures him that this is the least he could do for troubling him for this trip. Honestly, it’s making Ten feel absolutely useless so in a last-ditch effort, he offers Kun the window seat on the plane. Knowing that Ten prefers the window seat, Kun laughs but complies to ease Ten’s worries.</p>
<p>But he’s <em>still </em>worried. As they board the flight and settle into their seats, he restlessly tries to adjust himself underneath the in-flight blanket in a clumsy attempt to feel ever-slightly comfortable. It’s only a seven-hour flight but Ten can’t help but think it’s not enough time to mentally and emotionally prepare himself.</p>
<p>Seated rather comfortably next to him, Kun chuckles at him. “Why are you getting more nervous than me?” he asks jokingly. “I’m starting to think I’m not being nervous enough.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know…” Ten replies lamely. He knows he’s being ridiculous at this point. He shifts himself one last time before finding a somewhat comfortable sitting. (He comes to a conclusion that flights will just <em>never </em>comfortable.) “Sorry, it’s just…how are you not that nervous?”</p>
<p>Kun shrugs. “Of course, I’m a bit nervous. But, for some reason...knowing that I have you makes me feel better,” he replies. <em>Oh, he’s so fucking smooth</em>. “So, relax a little, Ten. I’ve got you and you got me, right?”</p>
<p>Ten swallows. Gives a wry smile and nods.</p>
<p>“Best damn pretend-boyfriend?” Kun nudges him, smiling back.</p>
<p>He laughs, “Best damn pretend-boyfriend ever.”</p>
<p>Kun's words make Ten feels his nervousness slowly fade away. Right, he just needs to trust Kun and stay calm. He can’t go off being more nervous than the boy who <em>actually</em> should be nervous. He simply needs to focus on pulling off a good act for Kun’s family. <em>Pretend-boyfriend?</em> Pfft, he tries to convince himself that that’s an easier role than he’s ever been assigned in his acting class. He rests a little easier as the plane begins to take off. </p>
<p>Only seven hours to go. When the plane stabilises in the air and the in-flight signals flash green, Ten stretches his legs and turns to stare out the window. He sees Kun reach for his bag underneath the seat to get his AirPods.</p>
<p>“I made a playlist for the flight,” the older boy says, passing one AirPod to Ten.</p>
<p>Ten takes it, confused. “You did what?” he asks.</p>
<p>Kun whips out his phone from his pocket and connects it to his AirPods smoothly. “Yeah, it’s got all of our favourite songs. Mostly yours. I thought it would be fun and it could calm us down, maybe,” Kun nonchalantly replies.</p>
<p><em>Nonchalantly</em>. Kun is doing Ten’s all-time favourite romantic gesture of making their crush a personal playlist <em>nonchalantly</em>. Fuck, as if he couldn’t be anymore whipped for him.</p>
<p>After they both put it in their ears, it takes a few seconds for Kun to find the playlist in his phone. And then soft, soothing R&amp;B music starts playing. When Ten peers over Kun’s shoulder to check out the playlist, he notices that it’s actually all<em> his</em> favourite songs. Kun would seriously be the best boyfriend and Ten is momentarily jealous of anyone who gets the honour of dating him in the future.</p>
<p>Kun turns to him, smiling at him expectedly. “I love it,” Ten tells him. (<em>I love you</em> is what he wanted to say.)</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>for the sake of consistency in this fic, i bumped the other boys' age up slightly so that they could all fit in the university setting lol. (that makes Kunten 4th years, Winwin 3rd year, Lucas-Xiaojun-Hendery 2nd year and Yangyang 1st year.)</p>
<p>i hope you like this chapter! we're gearing up to meet kun's family soon :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Tell me about your family,” Ten asks him. It’s an hour into the flight, with about six more hours to go, and the tiredness of travelling long-distance is beginning to settle in. It’s a morning flight, so neither Ten nor Kun got a full sleep the previous night. They’re still listening to music together but have started doing their own things in a comfortable silence; Ten is drawing on his iPad, and Kun is chewing on the in-flight snacks of peanuts while reading a book. When Ten starts to speak, Kun pauses the music and puts down his book. He faces Ten.</p><p>Ten is looking at him expectedly. Right. The more prepared they are, the less likely anything bad will happen. Nevertheless, it feels weird for Kun because he’s never actually shared a lot information about his family or home life to Ten, let alone the other boys—it never really came up in a conversation and he felt like there wasn’t really a need to divulge. (In truth, the boys had sensed Kun didn’t feel like sharing and so they didn’t press him on it.) Generally, Ten knows Kun is an only child and that his entire family is quite extensive. He also knows Kun grew up in Taining County of Wujian, China, and what his parents’ names are. Ten knows that Kun was in the closet with his them until <em>very recently</em> and that Kun actually has no idea if they are inherently homophobic or not because he never bothered finding out and never had any intention of letting them know.</p><p>So, there’s a lot for Kun to explain. As he’s going through the details about his family, he finds himself sharing more than just objective facts; it feels so natural and <em>comfortable </em>for him to add his own intimate commentary about his large family. He tells Ten about his parent’s jobs, about how they’re strict but kind, how he has so many cousins that he honestly loses count sometimes, what sort of place Taining County was like growing up; he talks about his grandmother’s house where he used to spend a lot of his childhood in, and he describes some of his memories of playing with his cousins and being fed <em>very </em>generously with hearty meals made by his aunts and uncles. When Ten casually steers the conversation towards finding out about what Kun was like growing up there, Kun pauses and takes a moment to hesitate.</p><p>It’s not that he doesn’t want to share, it’s that he’s <em>never </em>done so. He’s never kept a long-term friend or been close enough to anyone to share such details about himself. Sure, he has friends—he’s not a loner <em>okay</em>—but he’s only ever really had a true group of friends after meeting Ten and the others. So when he turns to Ten, who’s looking at him earnestly and who is near enough to actually lie his head on the older boy's shoulder, Kun realises that if there’s anyone he trusts to know personal details about himself, it’s his best friend right now.</p><p>When Kun starts to share about himself, it’s a little quieter on the plane now so Kun can hear himself clearer; there’s no random baby crying in the background or pesky strangers urgently moving around to go to the bathroom. Furthermore, Ten is listening to him earnestly, letting and giving him all the time in the world to tell his story—and it makes Kun feel they’re the only two people in the world right now. And so, Kun tells him about the overwhelming expectations his family has for him, how he’s branded as the ‘golden child’ amongst the Qians, how he’s grateful for all the love and attention he gets from everyone but also how, sometimes, he wants to hide alone in his room and just <em>scream</em>; he talks about how imperfect he feels, how <em>incomplete </em>he is, because he’s not straight and thinks that his family will hate him if they ever knew.</p><p>That’s when Ten reaches out to hold Kun’s arm that’s starting to tremble. Ten gazes at him sincerely as he says, “That doesn't make you imperfect, Kun. So what if you can't give them biological grandkids? You are amazing, smart and talented in everything—well, except for dancing, which you suck at—" Kun chuckles, "—and that makes you perfect to me. And that's enough."</p><p>Kun tries to hide a blush rising to his cheeks. “But it’s not enough for them,” he responds softly.</p><p>“Then fuck ‘em!” Ten retorts, squeezing Kun’s arm.</p><p>“Langu—“</p><p>“If anyone, even your family, thinks that <em>you </em>aren’t already the most amazing thing in the universe,” he leans in and stares into Kun’s eyes with an ominous seriousness, “<em>I’ll kill them.</em>”</p><p>It makes Kun break out into a stupidly sheepish grin. <em>No, you’re amazing</em>, he wants to respond but he’s too busy laughing at Ten’s hilarious, little threat. </p><hr/><p>Eventually, by the second-hour mark, with still five more hours left, they’ve switched seats because Kun offers the window seat to Ten after insisting he prefers the aisle seat (really, he just wanted Ten to feel more comfortable). After a couple of minutes, they receive their in-flight breakfast meals of which they chow down hungrily; it’s a simple meal consisting of a sandwich, a small square of cake and a plastic cup of tea or coffee, but it fills up their empty stomachs and makes Ten feel a little sleepy. (He usually opts for coffee at any given chance but settled for tea instead because he didn’t want to caffeine in his body right now.) Ten finishes drawing on his iPad and by the third-hour mark, he’s falling asleep against the window. But when the plane jolts from mid-air turbulence and Ten hits his head, Kun brings Ten to his side so that he can sleep on his shoulder instead.</p><p>On the other hand, Kun has resumed listening to music, shuffling through the playlist he made—<em>only realising now it’s 70 per cent Ten’s favourite songs</em>—and humming occasionally to the tunes. With Ten resting on his side, the boy’s body rising and falling gently with his slow breaths, Kun takes the quiet chance to stare out the window. At this point, it’s nearing the fourth-hour mark but Kun doesn’t feel tired at all. Maybe it’s because he’s naturally a morning person or because he does feel a little nervous about the situation, but he can’t take naps as easily as Ten can.</p><p>Looking outside, the sky looks vast and near enough to touch. He’s starting to dream of leaving everything on Earth and just float amongst the clouds. There’s too much to worry about on Earth. Thinking about it, he’s understanding now how Ten could feel so nervous. Kun has to worry about his parents, and his relatives, and then all the events happening in the week, <em>and then </em>about making sure Ten is okay with everything. There are many things that could go horribly wrong. He's sure at least one thing will go wrong and at least one person will start a fight or something—but he <em>prays </em>that he and Ten survive the week. In retrospect, maybe Kun shouldn’t have planned for a week-long trip back home; dealing with family drama for <em>seven days</em> is not what Kun was prepared for.</p><p>His only solace, perhaps, is the fact that he has Ten by his side. It’s a selfish thing for him to admit but, quite wholeheartedly, the fact that he has to pretend to be in relationship with Ten doesn’t bother him that much. Yes, he realises there might be awkward moments and knows he’s not as good of an actor as Ten is—he certainly has not taken any acting classes as a Business major—but he figures that it can’t be all too hard to pretend your best friend is your boyfriend for just a week. Truly, there’s no one other than Ten who he would genuinely feel comfortable with to do this. However, he still does bad for his friend; he knows this entire trip is troublesome for Ten and, granted, it makes sense to feel nervous.</p><p>And yet, he strangely doesn’t get the bad feeling that he won’t be able to pull this off. He can’t explain where his twisted sense of confidence comes from or how it hasn’t waned but, hand on heart, he thinks everything will eventually be alright—at least, with respect to being in a pretend-relationship with his closest friend in front of his family. It’s like, when he looks at Ten or when he knows Ten is around him, he feels safe. Ten has always been <em>that </em>person for him and he’s so, so thankful to have a best friend as amazing as Ten. It’s almost like he doesn’t need anyone or anything else in the world as long as he has Ten by his side. <em>We’ll be fine</em>, he assures himself, pulling Ten’s blanket up and gently tucking him in.</p><p>By the time Ten wakes up from his nap, they’ve only got an hour left until they reach their destination in Wujian. Groggily, he yawns and stretches out in a way that Kun can only describe as like an <em>adorable cat</em>. While he was asleep, Kun formulated a game plan of sorts for them to follow through during the week— their little <em>here’s-what-we’re-gonna-say </em>and <em>here’s-what-we’re-gonna-do </em>scheme. Kun knows his family will ask them questions and they <em>will </em>want details on their relationship (<em>if they do so approve of it</em>), so it’s best to come up with a story where they’ll be on the same page. Essentially, it’s a simple but solid story that goes as such: Kun and Ten have only been officially dating for six months so that’s why Kun didn’t share it with his parents until he knew it was serious. Just in case, Kun adds several details to make the story more convincing, such as “how they met” and “first dates”. (He <em>knows </em>some of his nosy relatives may ask for such ridiculous specifics.)</p><p>As he explains it slowly and carefully, he checks that Ten is paying attention and remembering the details. Unfortunately, his friend has a tendency to lose focus and start (rudely) daydreaming in the middle of a conversation. When he’s in the middle of relaying a fake story of their “first date”, Ten is fiddling with the ends of his blanket and interrupts, “I wanna have a cool name—can I have a different name?”</p><p>“<em>Ten. </em>First of all, you already go by a nickname,” he says, sighing.</p><p>“Damn,” Ten mutters, “it would’ve been fun to be called a completely different name.”</p><p>
  <em>“Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul?”</em>
</p><p>Ten turns to him and gives him a grave look. “Ew, don’t say my full name like that.”</p><p>Kun rolls his eyes. “<em>Secondly</em>, my parents already know your name. I told them we were friends before we ‘started dating’ when I was on the phone with my mom last night, remember? They’ve heard about you before—Did you not hear me just now?”</p><p>Ten gives a small smile. “You’ve told them about me before?”</p><p>“Of course—“</p><p>“What’d you say about me?”</p><p>“Nothing much,” Kun sighs again, trying to be patient. “You’ve come up in conversations sometimes. They know you’re my best friend and that we hang out all the time. They know about the rest of the group too. Lucas actually joined me in a video-call I had with them a few weeks ago.”</p><p>“Oh, okay,” Ten replies. Pauses. “But <em>I’ll </em>be the first one to meet them, right?”</p><p>Kun laughs. “Is this a competition? Yes, Ten, you’re <em>winning</em>,” he replies.</p><p>After the full seven hours, it’s close to three in the afternoon when the plane finally lands in Wujian. Kun hasn’t been here in two years and while he does miss home, he admits that after living in Korea for a few years, “home” feels closer to a foreign land than his little apartment back in Seoul. A strange feeling begins to overwhelm him. Grabbing their carry-on bags, they wait in line with the other passengers to leave the plane. Standing behind Ten, Kun tries to keep his cool as he mentally checks that they have all their belongings.</p><p>Ten turns back. With no sign of his initial nervousness anymore, he’s smiling widely at Kun. A glimmer of optimism in his eyes. “Ready, <em>boyfriend</em>?” he asks.</p><p>Kun smiles. “Ready,” he replies.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi guys! i really appreciate all the comments you leave &lt;3 i swear they will meet Kun's parents in the next chapter (and then the angst and pining shall really begin lol). i like writing back and forth between Ten and Kun's POV and i have great ideas planned for future chapters. i know this chapter is a little wordier than the others but i really hope you like it! i will be updating the next chapter in about two days :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Coming home after being away for two years is weird, but coming home as a person with a “completely different sex orientation” and a “boyfriend” in tow is even weirder. Despite the way that Kun expertly hails a taxi from outside the airport while flaunting his fluent Fujian accent, he feels more like a tourist than a local resident. As they hop in the taxi, luggage in the trunk, and make their way to their first destination, he peers at the outside surroundings from the window—it’s a familiar yet distant sight. Of course, it’s foolish to imagine that every in Fujian would remain the same; the same streets and buildings he used to explore have only partly changed in his absence but Kun’s observant nature picks up on it. And it’s just <em>a little </em>unsettling. It’s only been two years but Kun admits the streets of Seoul are more recognisable than the streets of his childhood hometown.</p><p>He turns to Ten, who’s looking out the other window. There’s a small smile on his face and a sense of wonderment in his eyes. It’s adorably innocent to Kun. <em>If only these were better circumstances</em>, Kun thinks. He would’ve loved to take Ten to his hometown on a proper trip, maybe travel around different cities around China with him.</p><p>“I think we’re only fifteen minutes away from the hotel,” Kun says. “We’ll check-in, drop off our luggage and then meet my parents.”</p><p>Ten turns to him. “Will we meet them at their house?” he asks. “Kinda sucks that we’re not staying at your childhood home. I wanted to see your old room and take snaps to send to the boys.”</p><p> “Yes, we’re going to my childhood home,” Kun chuckles. “<em>No, </em>you’re not allowed to take photos of my old room. I’m gonna make sure that room is locked. The boys would never stop teasing me if they see what it looks like.”</p><p>Ten frowns, a little baffled. Then a playfully suspicious smile spreads across his face. He asks, “Why? Are there <em>offensive </em>posters on your wall? Or <em>naughty </em>gay porn magazines stashed under your bed?”</p><p>“N-no!” Kun denies, flabbergasted. “Why does your mind always travel to stuff like that? I mean I have old action-figures and weird, embarrassing posters of my childhood idols.”</p><p>Ten looks utterly disappointed. Kun rolls his eyes, he doesn’t want to imagine what Ten’s childhood room looks like in comparison.</p><p>“By the way,” he says instead. “I forgot to mention but the hotel we’re staying at only has a King room. It’s my bad for booking the hotel last-minute and us being in this situation in the first place wouldn’t have happened if I—“</p><p>“King room?” Ten interrupts, he looks confused.</p><p>“Oh, um, it means there’s only one bed. King-size bed,” Kun replies. He watches how Ten’s facial expression turns from confusion to surprise and embarrassment. “I’m sorry, is it weird?”</p><p>“W-weird? How can that be weird?” Ten stammers. “It’s fine, it’s not like we haven’t slept together! I-I mean slept <em>in the same bed</em>.” His voice cracks at the end and he’s failing his hands around nervously.</p><p>Kun can’t help but laugh at Ten’s reaction. Of course, he understands this situation is different than just sharing a bed in his apartment for a night and he does feel bad about it—but he’s finding Ten’s reaction just a little <em>cute </em>right now. “I’m sorry, I know it’s a little inconvenient,” he responds, after a good chuckle. “If you find it too awkward, I can request the hotel for an extra bed?"</p><p>Ten waves his hands again. “N-no, it’s fine,” he says, trying to stay cool. “Don’t exaggerate. It’s not like we’ll have to squeeze on the bed…right?”</p><p>Kun smiles, relieved and a strangely comforted by Ten’s nervousness.</p><p>It’s close to five in the afternoon when they’re making their way to his family’s house. They’ve checked into the hotel first, gone through the obligatory motions of settling in and then hailing another taxi for the next important destination. Perhaps, the <em>most important </em>destination. As they’re sat in the taxi in silence, Kun feels like his entire body is frozen like ice. His insides solidified like steel, he’s weirded out by the fact that he’s <em>not</em> feeling nervous or scared to see his parents. He’s run a million scenarios in his head of the different possibilities for <em>that crucial moment</em> and he knows the likeliness of things going badly, so maybe all he can really feel now is that odd sense of acceptance.</p><p>He feels a warm hand take his. “Hey, it’s gonna be alright,” Ten tells him with a reassuring look. “We’ll get through this together.”</p><p>Or maybe it’s him, the boy who knows him better than anyone, that makes Kun feel ready to face anything.</p><hr/><p>They finally pull up at the house. Right before he left for Korea three years ago, he remembers his mother telling him he’s always welcome to come home. Now…he’s not so sure. But it’s still home. Ten stares out the window and says, “Wow, Kun… this place is beautiful.” Kun knows it is—a contemporary and modern house, it’s grounded in an Asian concept with natural materials and Chinese-style roofing. It’s two floors high, with an open-window concept. Located in the suburbs, it’s about twenty minutes from the town area and stands out from the other houses for its distinctively red gate. A few years ago, his parents remodelled the old family home to look more modern but the red gate remained as a nostalgic part of the house—it reminds Kun of simpler times.</p><p>They grab their stuff, exit the taxi after paying the driver politely and proceed to the gate. Kun has unconsciously grabbed Ten’s hand as he rings the gate intercom with his other hand. It only takes a second for a muffled voice to come out from the system.</p><p>“Hello?” a feminine voice calls.</p><p>Kun gulps. “Ma, it’s Kun. I’m—we’re outside.”</p><p>There’s no response. And then, the intercom rings and the gate doors open by itself slowly. Kun and Ten head inside to see an older woman standing by the front door. She’s a spitting image of Kun, if not for her long black hair and short, petite figure.</p><p>“Kun, dear,” she says tenderly as she opens up her arms to him. Kun smiles as he releases Ten’s hand to pull his mother into a hug. She smiles and squeezes him back. His mother’s hug is warm and gentle. “Welcome home,” she says.</p><p>Kun pulls away. “Thank you, Ma,” he replies. “This… this is Ten, my boyfriend,” he tells her, placing a hand on Ten’s back. Ten steps forward and bows down to her.</p><p>Kun watches her reaction carefully. She turns to Ten and with her kind smile still remaining, she pulls him into a hug as well. “Welcome to our home, Ten,” she says.</p><p>Ten is momentarily stunned as he glances at Kun. Then he reciprocates her hug and thanks her, “Thank you, Mrs. Qian.”</p><p>She pulls away. “Mrs. Qian? Oh my, that sounds too formal,” she replies incredulously. “Just Auntie is fine with me, dear.”</p><p>Ten is still stunned, an unfamiliar look on his face. “Auntie,” he repeats.</p><p>She smiles again. “Come, your father is waiting inside,” she says as she invites them in. They politely take off their shoes by the entrance and Kun’s mother beckons them to follow her down the hallway. The inside of the house is as beautifully constructed as the exterior; the hallway is decorated with classical paintings and the floor is covered in marble tiles. Kun can hear Ten beside him gasp in awe.</p><p>They make their way to the living room. Another beautifully decorated part of the house, with oriental but modern furniture. A man is sitting patiently on the couch. He turns when he notices them walk in and stands up. She looks like an aged version of Kun, with a taller, leaner and more masculine figure than him.</p><p>Kun gulps. Because this man is not soft-hearted like his mother. But he walks to him boldly and greets him, “Father, I’m home.”</p><p>His father stands firmly, his rigid figure and stern face greet Kun the way it always does since he was a young boy. “Son...” he says, “Welcome home, Kun.” And he pulls him into a hug.</p><p>It’s warm. It’s inviting. And Kun wants to cry as he brings his arm around his father’s back, but he holds back tears and takes in his father’s affection. Kun is reminded that no matter how old he gets, he’s still just a boy who wants his parents’ affection.</p><p>“Is this…” his father begins, pulling away.</p><p>Kun turns and nods. “Yes, this is Ten. Ten, this is my father.”</p><p>Ten bows respectfully and says, “Hello, sir. I’m Ten. Your house is beautiful, thank you for allowing me to come.”</p><p>“Come here. Let me give you a hug as well,” he says in a low but friendly voice. Ten complies, he’s awkward but he politely reciprocates Kun’s father’s hug.</p><p>They sit around the couch and have tea together. Kun introduces Ten properly, describes him carefully as his partner who he met at university. Ten shares a little about himself; where he’s from, how he came to Korea and what he studies in university.</p><p>“Your Mandarin sounds perfect, Ten,” Kun’s mother tells him as she pours him another cup of tea. “Did you say your parents are of Chinese descent?”</p><p>“Yes, Auntie,” he replies. “My Mandarin isn’t perfect, really, but I’ve been speaking it very often with Kun and our friends.”</p><p>“Yes, even though I’ve been telling the others we need to speak Korean more,” Kun interjects. He thinks about how six Chinese boys still have trouble navigating around the foreign country without his help.</p><p>Kun’s mother nods. “You must be friends with Yukhei as well, right? I still remember that energetic boy greeting us very excitedly over the phone.”</p><p>Kun glances at Ten, noticing his earnest smile. “We call him Lucas, he’s our giant baby,” Ten responds.</p><p>“That sounds accurate,” She laughs softly. “Oh! Dear, Ten, we forgot to give you a house tour.” She sets down her tea and gets up.</p><p>“Oh, that’s alright,” he replies.</p><p>“Nonsense! I must show you the house, I’m very proud of how I’ve decorated the rooms,” she says excitedly. Before anyone can react, she’s grabbing Ten’s arm and tugging him away.</p><p>“I’ll just quickly show him the rooms!” her gentle voice calls back to the others. Kun wants to tell her not show Ten his room but is too late. “Kun’s old room is just upstairs—“ he hears her say distantly.</p><p>Kun is left with his father in the living room, sipping tea that’s already cooled down. Now he’s starting to feel… <em>awkward</em>. Kun’s mother has always been the more empathetic and affectionate person between the two parents and Kun has never spent a lot of time with his father alone, as he’s usually working long hours. Moreover, Kun hasn’t fully processed his father’s “warm” reception yet.</p><p>“Son,” he starts, clearing his throat nervously. He speaks formally and rigidly. “Your mother and I had a discussion before your arrival. We… were shocked when you first said you’re gay. It’s hard to believe since we’ve raised you all these years as an honest child.”</p><p>Kun can’t meet his eyes. “Father…”</p><p>“But I realised… you must’ve shouldered a lot of pain as our only son,” he continues. “Kun, your mother and I have placed a lot of burden on you, haven’t we? Is that why… you were scared to tell us the truth?”</p><p>Kun looks back up at him. His father wears a face like he’s been hurt. “Father, I…” Kun stammers. His heart is racing. “I was… scared. I was scared you’d be disappointed in me. I’m your only son and yet… I’m gay and I’ve brought home someone who’s like me.”</p><p>His father sips his tea and then sets it down gently. “That is true. It’s indeed unexpected… but we are not disappointed in you.” His father looks at him solemnly. “Rather than that, the fact that you did not tell us… your mother and I felt disappointed by that.”</p><p>“F-father, does that mean you…”</p><p>“You will always be our son, Kun. And you’ve always been a good son. We accept you no matter what,” he says, placing a hand on Kun’s knee.</p><p>Kun looks at him in shock. Instantly, he feels so many emotions and sentimentally that he starts to tear up as he looks back down. It’s years of fear and anxiety building up and washing away all at once. He’s almost at a loss for words, it’s something he’s never experienced before. But he musters up the courage to tell his father softly, “Thank you for accepting me.”</p><p>“Thank you for being a good son,” his father tells him. Pauses. “But in the future…” Kun looks up. “You will adopt, right?”</p><p>Kun chuckles. “Of course, Father. I’ll give you and Mama good grandchildren.”</p><p>His father nods and smiles a little. They hear familiar voices from the hallway. “Then, that settles it. We will talk about the rest of the trip during dinner,” he says as he gets up.</p><p>“Kun!” he hears, turning to see Ten’s excited face return. “Your mother took me to your bedroom.”</p><p>“He took a lot of photos, dear,” his mother quips. “He looked all too excited to walk into your room.”</p><p>“Auntie, it’s the best room in this house!” Ten jokes. His mother laughs cheerily. Kun can’t fight the smile that creeps on his face.</p><hr/><p>It’s approaching evening time so everyone starts to prepare for dinner together. Kun, as always, is appointed as his mother’s cooking assistant in the kitchen while dishes are being made. Ten helps to set up the dining table while he converses with Kun’s father. About thirty minutes later, they’re all sat down to enjoy some homemade Chinese food.</p><p>Kun’s parents are seated across from Ten and him, and Kun’s mother generously offers Ten every single dish on the table. They’ve honestly cooked enough to feed an entire village despite there only being four people to feed this evening. Ten happily stuffs himself and over-compliments the food. Kun’s father makes an awkward joke about the excessive food which makes Ten burst into laughter. His father breaks out in a toothy smile, a <em>genuine </em>smile that doesn’t usually appear on the stern man’s face. Kun’s heart is just about to melt at how <em>happy</em> he feels; his parents are accepting him and Ten seems to have won over them with such ease.</p><p>They discuss the itinerary for the next couple of days; with Kun’s family being closely involved in his cousin’s wedding arrangements and his parents having made plans to show Ten around town, they spend most of the dinner chatting about the details. Surprisingly, his parents don’t ask them any serious questions. But when they do ask about what’s been going back in Korea, Ten answers them effortlessly. He’s such a natural talker and smoothly fills them in on his and Kun’s lives. Today, Kun doesn’t even have to lie about anything yet. He offers up little bits of conversation but mostly just quietly eats his food, smiles and watches Ten engage with his parents.</p><p>As a matter of fact, he <em>was</em> worried about Ten not getting along with his parents. But, in a good way, everything seems to betray his expectations today. He suspects his parents may have still have some doubts about the whole thing, but by the time they’re cleaning up and bringing the dishes into the kitchen, Kun is yet again surprised.</p><p>Ten is chatting away with his father in the living room, making his father smile in many ways that Kun didn’t know was possible, while Kun is helping his mother in the kitchen. He’s wiping the water off the plates when she starts speaking to him.</p><p>She sighs as she confesses, “I have to admit, dear, I had my doubts before you came. Your father and I were incredibly worried. We… were worried that you were lying to us because we give you a lot of pressure, you know, about your studies and your future… we don’t mean to pressurise you… it’s just…”</p><p>Kun can tell his mother is choking up with emotions. He pulls her into a hug, feeling guilty and bad for what he’s putting them through, and rubs his hand on her back. “I’m sorry, Mama—“</p><p>She shushes him up. “It’s not your fault, son. I’m sorry for doubting you,” She pulls away from the hug. “I couldn’t tell if you were serious over the phone, but when I saw you and Ten at the door…I could tell it’s real.”</p><p>“You could?” Kun asks, a little nervously. Kun hears Ten laugh from the room away, probably at something his father says, one of his awkward jokes again perhaps.</p><p>“Of course, I can tell,” his mother retorts. “I’m your mother, for goodness’ sake. You know, your father and I simply want the best for you. And for you to be happy… That boy makes you happy, doesn’t he?”</p><p>An image of Ten smiling from ear-to-ear, looking like he is sincerely enjoying himself, flashes in Kun’s mind. He feels a genuine sense of relief and joy when he knows Ten is smiling. “He does,” he replies honestly.</p><p>“It’s<em> adorable</em>,” she squeals. “Ten is a good one, dear. He looks like he’s absolutely <em>crazy </em>about you.”</p><p>Kun freezes. <em>Does it look that way? </em>Kun didn’t realise Ten’s acting was that good. Maybe he hasn’t been paying enough attention to him. What he wants to insist is, <em>No he isn't</em>, but instead he can only ask, “You think?”</p><p>“Are you blind or something? He spoke very happily about you over dinner and he was very amazed at your room too,” she says, giving him a strange look. Rolling her eyes, she empties the sink and then flicks some water at him. “Don’t act too surprised – he <em>is</em> dating you for a reason. People usually tend to like the other person if they’re dating them.”</p><p>“That’s true…” he replies, staring down at the plates. It’s obviously a relief that their plan is working. But, for some reason, there’s something about this that is starting to feel <em>unsettling</em>. His mother joins the others in the living room while he finishes up drying the dishes.</p><p>He’s starting to overthink again. Ten and he may have his parents fooled, but they haven’t met the rest of the family yet. Some relatives are more sceptical and unaccepting than his parents. He realises their struggles have only yet to come. He slowly loses focuses and begins clumsily stacking the dishes away in the cupboards when Ten walks in.</p><p>“Do you need any help?” Ten asks, a radiant smile plastered on his face.</p><p>“No, I’m almost done,” Kun replies, trying to concentrate but he can’t hide the look of concern on his face in front of Ten.</p><p>“I like your parents, Kun,” Ten tells him as if reading his mind. “And I think they like me too.”</p><p>Kun chuckles. “You look like you were having fun with my dad. Since when did you find such jokes so funny? You hate it when I say them.”</p><p>“Because your dad is actually funny,” Ten says, as if it’s a matter of fact. “And your mom is nice and—“</p><p>Ten is suddenly enveloped in a tight bear hug from Kun. “H-hey, y-you alright?” he stammers, reciprocating the hug in confusion.</p><p>“Yeah, just a little tired,” Kun answers, his words are muffled in Ten’s shoulder. “Just... Thank you for today.”</p><p>Ten pats him on the bag. “It’s nothing,” he replies. “But are you going to get emotional and thank me every day? We’re only on the first day of this trip, you know,” he adds jokingly.</p><p>Kun chuckles again. He leans into the hug more, resting the weight of his head on Ten’s shoulder. Ten feels and smells like fresh flowers and warmth. His mother was right, Ten <em>does </em>make him happy. Because Ten is nice, great with his family, kind and…</p><p>“I’ll try not to get emotional on this trip,” he responds. “But I’ll thank you every day this week and every day after this trip as well.”</p><p>Kun can feel Ten’s body shake with laughter under his arms. “So clingy,” the boy says. Kun wants to hold onto Ten’s warmth forever.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so. many. hugs. ;(<br/>hi guyssss, sorry for the bit of delay on this one. it took me a while to write this chapter out. i wanted to write the scenes out properly since i felt they were important plot developments. i drew on a lot of the small moments from my own personal experience. fun fact: i have really strict and conservative asian parents and they flipped out when i told them i was dating a (really) white european boy lol<br/>hope you like this chapter! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ten wakes up the next morning to the sound of someone brushing their teeth and the smell of aftershave. He’s comfortable under the sheets, <em>too comfortable</em>, because hotel beds are always somehow a billion times more comfortable than your own beds—and he wants to keep his eyes shut and stay in bed but a gentle hand nudges him awake.</p><p>He rubs the remainder of sleep from his eyes and opens up to the image of wet-hair Kun who has a toothbrush in his mouth and a towel over his shoulder… and he’s… <em>shirtless. </em>Ten jolts as he’s nudged and he stares wide-eyed at the lean, <em>provocative </em>boy standing before him. It’s not enough just seeing that his hair is soaking wet, light hair clinging to his forehead and temples, the sight of his naked torso has Ten shamefully leering at him. You see, tall and masculine boys are Ten’s type to a fucking tee, but Kun has always hid his body underneath oversized shirts and jumpers so Ten had always thought that his one-sided crush on the other boy was some unusual, unpredictable trick of his own mind—<em>and then</em>, on one fine morning in Kun’s apartment, he momentarily saw him come out of the shower in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist by chance and Ten almost fell to the floor. Because Kun is <em>built</em>, like Ten has no idea why Kun is humbly hiding his Herculean, Dorito-esque proportions underneath baggy clothes. To his disappointment, Ten never saw such sight again… until today. Maybe he hasn’t actually woken up yet and he’s still dreaming.</p><p>“Good morning sleepyhead, go hop in the shower,” Kun tells him sweetly, gesturing to the bathroom. <em>He’s not dreaming.</em></p><p>Wide awake now, Ten practically jumps out of bed and strides to the bathroom to <em>calm himself. </em>He changes out of his pyjamas, turns on the shower and quickly hops in. As the hot water pelts down his head, he finds himself absent-mindedly staring off and remembering every painstaking detail of his best friend’s body. <em>Ugh</em>, he’s a fucking pervert. To wash away his dirty thoughts (literally), he furiously scrubs his body and makes it a quick shower. He throws on clean clothes and gets out of the bathroom.</p><p>“Just bring whatever you want to bring, I’m packing everything we need,” Kun says to him as he stuffs a bunch of necessities into his travel bag.</p><p>“Of course you are,” Ten replies, walking around the bed to him. “Give me some things to put in my bag as well.”</p><p>Kun smiles and hands Ten him a bottle of sunscreen. “Put this on and then put this in your bag. The weather’s a little hot today and we’re gonna be walking around a lot so—“</p><p>“Oh my god, you’re such a <em>mom</em>,” Ten groans, snatching it from him. He slathers on a generous amount of sunscreen onto his hand.</p><p>“Hey! You asked me in the first place—“ Before Kun can finish his sentence, Ten smears a blob of the lotion directly onto Kun’s nose. Kun’s nose is doused in white, making him look like a cute animal. Ten is laughing loudly while Kun glares at him in incredulous shock. But as he’s trying to control his giggles, that’s when Kun wipes his nose and smears the lotion back onto Ten’s face. Ten stops laughing and looks at him seriously.</p><p>Suddenly it’s an all-out competition and Kun is swiftly grabbing back sunscreen to slather on even more lotion onto his hand and then onto Ten’s face. Ten’s playful side comes out as he yanks the bottle back. Kun struggles but manages to leave a smudge of lotion on Ten’s chin. The bottle is travelling back and forth between each other’s grip. When Kun has it, he leverages his bit of extra height to hold the bottle in the air and wave it above from Ten who’s tip-toeing, reaching, jumping over Kun, and then—Ten loses his footing and instinctively grabs onto Kun’s arm as he falls back.</p><p>For a second, his eyes are shut from the impact and he feels the softness of the bed behind his body. Thank god, he landed safely. <em>And then</em>—he opens his eyes and he realises that Kun has also fallen. Kun’s body is directly above Ten, held up by his arm which Ten <em>is still holding</em>. His body is awkwardly in between Ten’s leg while his one arm is on the side of Ten’s face. Their play fight has left them panting from heavy laughter and movements, and their faces are messily covered in lotion, that it takes them a second to realise that Kun is <em>kind of </em>on top of Ten right now.</p><p>Their faces are streaked in white. Panting lightly, Ten would’ve normally made some playful remark or lewd joke about the state of their faces but his entire face is <em>actually on fire </em>and he’s sure that if weren’t for the lotion, the aggressively red blush on his cheeks would be extremely obvious.</p><p>Breathing as heavily as him, Kun is peering into Ten’s eyes. His loose hand comes up to Ten’s face and his fingers start to rub the lotion on the other boy’s cheeks. Ten knows Kun is just teasing him. (Because Kun will never be aware of how any touch, even just a gentle brush, from him is like an electric shock to Ten.) And he so, <em>so much </em>wants to lean into Kun’s touch and immerse in this weird, intimate feeling but his sense of rationality holds him back.</p><p>Kun is all but aware. “You just used up half of my sunscreen,” he just says, chuckling. His face is so, so close.</p><p>Ten loses his rationality all of a sudden. Unconsciously, his hand is reaching up to Kun’s face as well and he’s wiping the lotion off Kun’s nose. “At least we know for sure we won’t get sunburnt now,” he responds quietly, coolly.</p><p>Kun laughs as he gets up, moving away from Ten and the bed. Ten is sure Kun is oblivious to what just happened. “Alright, no more messing around,” he’s saying, “We need to leave soon. Make sure to bring a hat as well.”</p><p>Ten is dumfounded. He gets up slowly, feeling like he just woke up for a second time in the morning. It’s only morning and his crush on Kun is already in full swing. He responds blankly, “Oh, I forgot to bring one.”</p><p>“No worries, we’ll just buy you one when we’re out,” Kun replies smoothly. Ten simply nods, feeling disorientated. <em>He really needs to calm down</em>.</p><hr/><p>Once they’re ready, they head out to meet Kun’s parents downtown. Yesterday, they decided they want to bring Ten around the central city area and show him the popular tourist sights. The big family gathering is happening on Wednesday so that leaves today, Tuesday, a good and simple day to go sight-seeing. (Or so Ten <em>thinks</em> it will be simple.)</p><p>It takes them about fourty minutes to get to the central city area of Xiamen. It’s not much different from the looks of downtown Seoul; it’s a normal city area, of course, but nevertheless Ten is fascinated by his foreign surroundings. Xiamen is directly by the waters, surrounded by a long river and nearby ocean that seem to stretch endlessly. Admittedly, Ten is pretty excited today if he thinks about this week as just a trip to a friend’s house. He knows it’s not, so he tries to keep his cool anyways. As they hop out of the taxi, Kun’s parents are waiting for them outside a café. Kun’s mother greets them both warmly with a hug while his father politely shakes Ten’s hand.</p><p>“Dear, did you forget to bring a hat?” Kun’s mother asks Ten, concerned. He nods shyly. “Come, we’ll buy you one after brunch.”</p><p>Ten giggles. “Kun said the same thing this morning.”</p><p>“Oh, I’ve raised him just like me, haven’t I?” his mother coos back, nudging him playfully. Kun rolls his eyes, he almost can’t stand how much they’ve clicked.</p><p>They have a quick and light brunch inside the café and start their journey. They first travel to a monumental place, where they get to see historical buildings and visit a local museum. Ten is utterly fascinated as he's always found that the charm of travelling is learning about foreign history and culture. He also <em>loves </em>museums—the artsy, hipster person in him can’t resist. They take their time to stroll around and appreciate the arts and culture. Kun’s father is apparently a bit of a historical buff as he proudly shares old historical facts about different memorials and statues with the others. Meanwhile, Kun’s mother is a materialistic woman—in the good sense—as she showers Ten with gifts and treats and brings him to all the best souvenir shops. Ten makes sure he buys some souvenirs for the boys back home; they may have sneakily avoided the “awkward situation of playing pretend-boyfriend with Kun”, but they also missed out on a chance to enjoy the perks of a holiday trip. They're dickheads, but they're still his babies.</p><p>On the hand, Kun has become an avid photographer as he enthusiastically takes photos of everything everywhere with his phone. It’s strange because it’s his own hometown he’s trying to capture, but maybe it’s sentimentality or nostalgia or knowing he doesn’t return home often enough to really remember the streets he grew up in that he wants to save memories into his camera roll. Ten feels a little sad because he knows he’s the same, having not gone home to Thailand in many years. He misses home even if he’s not welcomed there.</p><p>“Oh! What about this, Ten?” Kun’s mother asks him eagerly. She’s pointing at a bright pink baseball cap that says “I HEART FUJIAN” in bold coloured letters. (She’s eager but not fashionable.) “I’m not letting you walk another second in this heat without a hat,” she asserts.</p><p>“Ten doesn’t like that,” Kun says bluntly, as if reading his mind. He’s taking pictures of a statue but pauses to peer over at Ten and his mother’s business with a small market stall.</p><p>“What? No way! I-I really like it, Auntie,” Ten lies, trying not hurt her feelings. He takes the hat and puts it on.</p><p>She smiles widely. “It’s adorable!” she gasps delightfully.</p><p>Kun bursts out laughing. Because. He. Looks. Ridiculous. And Ten knows it, because his favourite colour is not pink—<em>it’s black</em>. He turns to glare at Kun, and then back at his mother to give her a satisfactory smile while adjusting the hat nicely on his head. He knows he’s not actually Kun’s boyfriend and it doesn’t matter but he <em>still wants to score brownie points, okay</em>. So, it doesn’t matter if he looks ridiculous and that it doesn’t match his dark outfit at all.</p><p>She insists on buying it on the spot. Without a second to regret, Ten is now the (dishonest) owner of a brightly pink, cute hat that he ends up wearing for the rest of the day. And with that, Kun’s mother buys him ice-cream as another treat. God, he’s being spoilt like a child <em>but he secretly loves it</em>.</p><p>It’s a long day of travelling to different tourist spots. They walk around, take some group photos and buy more souvenirs. Ten almost feels like he’s just on a family trip, almost feels like he’s a part of them—if not for that annoying itch in the back of his mind that reminds him <em>“you’re temporary, don’t get ahead of yourself, this week will end”</em>. It doesn’t make it easier on his mental state when he keeps lying, keeps playing the “boyfriend” role and keeps pretending that everything’s okay.</p><p>It’s when Kun’s mother insists on them taking a “couple’s photo” that Ten really begins to feel like an imposter. They’re standing in front of a really scenic view, the landscape of the entire city behind them, and Kun pulls Ten in for a photo together. Kun is grabbing onto Ten’s hand because it’s necessary and Ten is forcing a smile because he has to pretend his heart inside isn’t hurting. It’s a great photo—a really, really cute photo and Ten laughs at Kun’s awkward peace-sign when his mother shows them the photo—but Ten knows it’s dishonest. If When she offers to send the photo, Ten declines and lies that his phone doesn’t have enough memory space. It really hurts.</p><p>Their next destination is to the beach. Along the coast of the city area stretches a long and wide beach which is a popular spot for both tourists and locals. It’s perfect weather so when they arrive, they see a huge crowd of people; children clustered around small patches of sand, teenagers playing beach sports and adults on towels tanning under the sun. Kun’s mother insists on another group photo, and then a couple’s photo—despite the fact that the view is more <em>people </em>than it is <em>actual beach and water</em>.</p><p>The sun is definitely hot, but the cool ocean breeze neutralises the heat and gives them just the right amount of comforting warmth. They take a perfectly relaxing stroll along the boardwalk for a while, until Kun’s parents decide to take a rest at a nearby shelter. The two boys decide to wander closer to the beach, dipping their bare feet into the sands. Kun is holding Ten’s hand again and pulling the boy closer to the waters (even though their parents aren’t around, even though there’s no need to keep up the pretence right now). Wind caressing their faces, Kun is going on excitedly sharing his childhood memories with Ten. Kun has a lot of endearing memories of going to the beach with his family and cousins as a young kid. Ten listens attentively but his subconscious is focused on Kun's soft fingers that are entwined with his.</p><p>They reach the sandy foot of the beach, where the water begins crashing at their toes. The view of the ocean is finally clear and there are no interrupting people in sight. The cool water laps at Ten’s feet, fizzing and bubbling like brine. Even though the sun is beating on his back and beaming in his eyes, he can't help but smile at the sight of the vast ocean. There’s something serene about hearing the ocean waves and looking beyond the land. Makes him forget his worries.</p><p>Then, he hears the snapping sound of a camera. He turns to see Kun holding up his phone, taking a picture of Ten as he faces the ocean.</p><p>Kun is looking at him admirably. “I think I took a good picture,” he says. He smiles eagerly as he shows Ten the photo he took.</p><p>Ten is in the centre of Kun’s photo, in between the sand and water. He’s facing ahead but his eyes are shut, as if he was taking in a deep breath of the salty smell of the ocean. Ten’s skin looks like it’s glowing under the sun and he has the softest expression on his face.</p><p>“No, I think I’m just photogenic,” he smirks.</p><p>Kun rolls his eyes and brings his phone up again. “Smile, I’ll take another one.”</p><p>Ten laughs, starting to feel shy. “No! One is enough. Let me take a photo of you instead,” he insists, reaching out to grab Kun’s phone.</p><p><em>Snap again</em>. Kun captures the exact moment Ten’s hand is reaching out. It’s at an odd angle; the sun’s rays are shining from Ten’s back, making him seem illuminous, but the real focus of the photo is Ten’s beaming smile that is laughing at Kun. Under his breath, almost like a gasp, Ten hears Kun say, <em>“Really pretty</em>.<em>”</em></p><p>Ten pauses. Retreats his hand and gapes at Kun awkwardly. Kun looks at the photo then back at Kun. He says more firmly now, “It’s really pretty. Look.”</p><p>He shows it to Ten. Ten can’t look at it because it’s a just photo of himself (and because he’s shy) but he watches the way Kun’s eyes are lighting up, looking like he just took the most beautiful photo in the world. And Ten’s heart starts to <em>ache</em>, because… because it feels weird and wrong and it’s such a tender expression that Ten wishes was true. Wishes it was <em>real.</em></p><p>But he knows it’s not. He knows that none of this is real and that today is just a dream that he’ll wake up from next week. It’s a sick and stupid rom-com movie that will end with the end of this trip. <em>And it makes him want to cry</em>.</p><p>He smiles back at Kun anyways. Because when Kun infects him with his innocent radiance and looks like he’s filled with the same, real affection as him, Ten wants to pretend today goes on forever.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi guysss, sorry i really meant to update earlier! but i got busy with a new job this week. anyways i wrote 2800 words of Ten being whipped for Kun again lol. i hope u like this chapter! :) &lt;3</p>
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